Musical instrument.



No. 644,022. Patented Feb. 20, I900. W. W. MGCALLIP. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

(No Model.)

wad/14 I THE mums PETERS c0, Pucn'au'mo" WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM lVATERMAN MCCALLIP, OF COLUMBUS, OIllO.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,022, dated February20, 1900.

Serial No. 728,706. (No modeh) 1'0 (066 Hf/I/O'ITZ/ it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM WATERMAN MOOALLIP, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in MusicalInstruments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates more particularly to instruments that include incombination a cithern 0r cithern like instrument and a mouth-harp orharmonica, and the features of novelty are set forth in the claimsappended to the following description.

In the accompanying drawings,showing one embodiment of my improvements,Figure 1 is a view of the right-hand side of the instrument. Fig. 2 is aView of the left-hand side of the instrument, the mouth-harp attachmentbeing removed. Fig. 3 is a front view of the upper portion of theinstrument. Fig. 4 is a top view. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view,on a larger scale, through the mouthharp and its sound-chamber.

Like characters of reference in the several views designatecorresponding parts.

1 designates the body of the stringed instrument, which is of thegeneral form of a cithem, but is furnished on each of its larger flatsides with bridges and pins, as shown, to which strings can be attachedin the usual manner, one set of the pins on each side being rotatable topermit the tuning of the strings. The strings on the right-hand side areshown to be sixteen in number, so that they may be tuned to form adiatonic scale of two octaves, while those on the left side are twelvein number, so that they may be tuned to form three common chords-as, forexample, chords of the tonic, dominant, and subdominant, with theirbases or fundamentals. The strings are thus arranged to suit the normaldifference between the dexterity of the right and left hand, it beingmore clifficult to pick a melody than to pick chords.

2 designates the sound chamber or chest of the mouth-harp. This chestmay be of the form shownthat is, with a substantially-rectangularportion or pocket adapted to receive a mouth-harp and a taperingportion, in the end of which is formed or fitted a screw. The upper sideof the sound-chamber has a sliding cover 2"*, so that the chamber may beopened more or less to vary the volume and quality of the tone emitted.The mouth-harp is held in its seat in the'end of the soundchamber bymeans of a plate 3, having holes that correspond to and register withthe airpassages of the mouth harp. Where the sound-chamber is of wood,this plate may be secured in place by means of nuts or small boltspassing through small holes in the ends of the plate and in smallbrackets fastened to ends of the sides of the sound-chamber.

The longitudinal edges of the perforated plate 3 project beyond thesides of the soundchamber, and upon these edges fit flanges of amouthpiece 4. This mouthpiece is made with a hole, through which breathis blown or drawn to vibrate the reeds of the mouthharp, and themouthpiece is capable of being slid back and forth across the plate 3 tobring the hole of the mouthpiece over any of the various air-passages ofthe mouth-harp. The inner side of the mouthpiece may be furnished with apadding of felt to preventthe escape of air at the sides. The screw onthe end of the sound-chamber is designed to enter and frictionallyengage a threaded socket 1 in the front edge of the cithern, so that, ifdesired, the sound-chamber, together with its contained mouth-organ, maybe turned to stand in an inclined position with respect to the strungside of the cithern and enable the player to see the strings.

At any suitable place on the top of the cithem I place chart-holder 5,and by means of a pointer t, secured to the mouthpiece, and a suitablenotation on a chart in the holder the mouthpiece may be guided to theproper position to play a melody. The rear side of the cithern willpreferably have a loop or strap handle, into which the fingers of theleft hand may be placed to hold the instrument, so that the thumb of theleft hand shall be free to pick chords on the left side and the righthand be free to pick a melody on the right side.

As may readily be inferred, a variety of kinds of music may be producedwith this instrument, to wit, a melody alone picked on the stringsamelody with chord accompaniment on the strings, a melody on themouthharp with an accompaniment of chords on the strings, and a melodyand chord accompaniment on the strings with an alto or tenor on theharp.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Astringedinstrument of the cithern kind, combined with a holderhaving a seat for a harmonica or mouth-harp, With means for rotatablyattaching the said holder to the stringed instrument, substantially asdescribed.

2. A stringed instrument of the cithern kind having strings on one sideadapted to be tuned in a diatonic scale and strings for fundamentals andtheir chords on the reverse side, combined with a holder having a seatfor a harmonica or mouth-harp, with means for rotatably attaching thesame to the stringed instrument, substantially as described.

3. A stringed instrument of the oithern kind having strings adapted tobe tuned in a diatonic scale on one side and strings for fundamentalsand their chords on the reverse side, combined With a sound-chamberhaving a seat for a harmonica or mouth-harp and an opening with amovable cover, and means for attaching said sound-chamber to thestringed instrument, substantially as described.

4. A stringedinstrument of the cithern kind, combined with anindependent sound-chamber, a seat in said chamber for the mouthharp, andmeans attaching the sound-chamber to the stringed instrument,substantially as described.

5. In combination, a stringed instrument of the cithern kind, achart-holder thereon, a mouth-harp stationarily attached to the cithern,a mouthpiece movable on the mouthharp, and a pointer attached to them0uthpiece, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM WATERMAN MoCALLIl.

lVitnesses:

GEORGE M. FINOKEL, GEORGE W. ALFRED.

